Verification system and method in a document processing environment

ABSTRACT

A feeder control system and method are disclosed. The system includes a feeder information detector, and a feeder information leverager to provide integrity verification, system control and/or reporting. The method includes the steps of detecting feeder information, and leveraging the feeder information to provide integrity verification, system control and/or reporting.

This application is a Divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.12/861,257, filed on Aug. 23, 2010 now abandoned, which is a Divisionalof U.S. application Ser. No. 10/928,704, filed on Aug. 30, 2004, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,804,979, which in turn claims the benefit of CanadaApplication No. 2,438,951, the disclosures of which Applications areincorporated by reference herein.

FIELD

The present teachings relate generally to document handling equipment,and more particularly to control and reporting systems, and integrityverification techniques for feeder equipment such as mail inserters,printing presses, and bookmakers.

BACKGROUND

While mail systems have always strived for accuracy and integrity toensure that letters arrive at their proper destination in good order andin a timely manner, integrity verification is of paramount importance inthe industry today. Issues such as inspecting sequential page numbering,inspecting correct postage, and ensuring contents to wrapper matchingnow need to be performed in a highly accurate and efficient manner.

Early prior art methods of managing the integrity of a large volumemailing typically required the use of legions of employees manuallyverifying the accuracy of work pieces before they were sent out. Whilethese methods were adequate for their time, contemporary requirementsfor enormous and time-critical mailings have led to the development ofhigh-speed feeder systems with a capacity to handle enormous quantitiesof output. These high capacity feeders now require only a minimum ofhuman involvement, leaving those early quality control methodsinherently obsolescent.

Attempts at integrity verification for contemporary feeder systems haveinvolved the placement of marks directly upon the work piece that encodebasic information about the work piece that can be read by a somewhatrudimentary machine vision system to glean information about the statusof the process. One such mark is the Optical Mark Recognition (OMR). OMRmarks can be read by a light probe to gain information about aparticular work piece for use in integrity verification such assequential numbering or ensuring all pages are collated together into asingle mailing. The problem with the OMR technique is that it providesonly limited information and requires the disfigurement of the workpiece itself for the sole purpose of integrity verification, a processwhich when completed leaves the markings remaining permanently on thework piece. This is undesirable in the industry, which would prefer thatonly information pertaining to the document's original purpose bepresent upon receipt by the recipient.

Later developments use the now ubiquitous bar-coding method. Whileproviding more detailed information that can be useful in integrityverification techniques, as with OMR this too disfigures the work piecefor peripheral purposes, and provides the additional disadvantage oftending to make the recipient feel like “just a number”.

More recent techniques have involved the use of area-scanning camerasthat capture images in a manner not unlike a common consumer digitalcamera. These cameras are used to scan an area of a document, withOptical Character Recognition (OCR) techniques subsequently performed toglean information from the scanned region of the work piece. Thisprovides the advantage of limiting the disfigurement of the work pieceby attempting to use existing information such as the address label toverify the accuracy of the mail out. The problem with this technique isthat area-scanning cameras are incapable of scanning a large area imagein a rapid manner, and require waiting for the entire area to be scannedbefore the image can be processed for information.

A further problem in the field is with the capturing of embossed orthree dimensional characters on a work piece, such as a credit card.Imaging or reading the embossed characters has proved to be inherentlydifficult. Since feeder systems are frequently employed to mail out newand renewed credit cards, a need exists to capture the printedinformation on those cards to ensure the integrity of the mail out.Prior art systems will typically employ a ring light, also used withother applications, to properly illuminate the characters for improvedcontrast. However, if the ring light is not precisely positioneddirectly on top of the target, which occurs with regularity, a readerwill be unable to properly capture the information due to shadowing andother problems.

One method around this problem has been to try to read matchinginformation on a magnetic stripe that often accompanies these cards.However, not all cards include such a stripe, and even when thesestripes are present, they are difficult to read and require a purposeuse reader. What is needed is an improved method of readingthree-dimensional characters in a feeder system.

A further problem in the field is with the utilization of existing orlegacy resources in a cost-effective manner. When new symbologytechniques are implemented, while offering desirable improvements, theytypically require the purchase of new readers to implement the newsymbology. It can become exceedingly expensive to purchase a new readerfor use with only minimal job runs using the new symbology, leaving thedilemma of whether to make the purchase or to wait. What is needed is away to minimize the requirement to purchase new equipment each time anew symbology is utilized, and instead leverage existing legacyequipment to take advantage of any newly developed symbologies.

A further problem in the field is that prior art systems have generallyrequired the use of multiple area-scanning cameras, one for each areatargeted for an expected piece of information, such as an address orpage number. These prior art methods have required the accuratepositioning of a camera in the feeder, and accurate pre-printing of theinformation in a narrow area for each document in order to ensure itsrespective camera will image it. With the use of so many cameras,available good locations to mount them quickly become scarce, and thecosts increase in proportion to the amount of required cameras. What isneeded is a way to reduce the amount of cameras required.

A further problem in the field is that the target area for an area-scancamera is lit by a point source. Since the light needs to be close tothe paper for adequate illumination, a ‘hot-spot’ is created on theimage that is considerably lighter at the center and falls off towardsthe edges. There is no single threshold value that works across theentire image when reading scanned images. What is needed is a better wayto read information through these difficult lighting conditions.

A further problem in the field is an inability to decode checks in arapid manner in order to provide timely feedback to the feeder. Theprior art approach has been to batch up all the images and decode themlater, which proves to be too late for real-time control. What is neededis a way to rapidly decode checks in order to provide real-time feedbackto the feeder.

For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an improved feeder systemand method.

SUMMARY

The present teachings are directed to a feeder control system andmethod. The system includes a feeder information detector, and a feederinformation leverager to provide integrity verification, system controland/or reporting.

The method includes the steps of detecting feeder information, andleveraging the feeder information to provide integrity verification,system control and/or reporting.

The system is highly interoperable with multiple machine manufacturesand new or legacy equipment, adding improved quality control andintegrity checking to print and mail operations. The system enablesoperators to run their inserters and other feeder equipment at fullspeed. The system enables cross-referencing to a master list to ensurethat what is thought to have been printed and packaged is what wasactually done.

A quality assurance report can be printed at any time that identifiesevery envelope the system has seen, and often more importantly everyenvelope it hasn't seen. This eliminates any need to guess what needs tobe reprinted, therein providing a higher quality output at a lower cost,whether matching on an inserter or checking text on a web press. Thesystem is ultimately more tolerant of poor setup, easier to use,requires less operator training to get good results, dramaticallyimproves accuracy, and requires fewer service calls.

Other aspects and features of the present teachings will become apparentto those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the followingdescription of specific embodiments in conjunction with the accompanyingfigures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentteachings will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 illustrates a feeder control system in accordance with anembodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a feeder control method in accordance with anembodiment;

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of a general-purpose computer.

FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of a general-purpose computer.

FIG. 5 illustrates simultaneous scan and decode;

FIG. 6 illustrates print stream extraction;

FIG. 7 illustrates a control grid;

FIG. 8 illustrates a one-to-many reader;

FIG. 9 illustrates a symbology translator; and

FIG. 10 illustrates a core data format symbology translation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Examples of the present teachings include a feeder control system 10 andmethod 100. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the system 10 includes a feederinformation detector 12, and a feeder information leverager 14 toprovide integrity verification, system control and/or reporting.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the method 100 includes the steps of detectingfeeder information 102, and leveraging the feeder information to provideintegrity verification, system control and/or reporting 104.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a PC or workstation typeimplementation of a system 251, which may serve as an operator interfaceor other element for the system 10 and/or method 100.

The exemplary computer system 251 contains a central processing unit(CPU) 252, memories 253 and an interconnect bus 254. The CPU 252 maycontain a single microprocessor, or may contain a plurality ofmicroprocessors for configuring the computer system 252 as amulti-processor system. The memories 253 include a main memory, a readonly memory, and mass storage devices such as various disk drives, tapedrives, etc. The main memory typically includes dynamic random accessmemory (DRAM) and high-speed cache memory. In operation, the main memorystores at least portions of instructions and data for execution by theCPU 252.

The mass storage may include one or more magnetic disk or tape drives oroptical disk drives, for storing data and instructions for use by CPU252: For a home PC, for example, at least one mass storage system 255 inthe form of a disk drive or tape drive, stores the operating system andapplication software as well as data, including received messages anddocuments. The mass storage 255 within the computer system 251 may alsoinclude one or more drives for various portable media, such as a floppydisk, a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), or an integrated circuitnon-volatile memory adapter (i.e. PCMCIA adapter) to input and outputdata and code to and from the computer system 251.

The system 251 also includes one or more input/output interfaces forcommunications, shown by way of example as an interface 259 for datacommunications via a network. The interface 259 may be a modem, anEthernet card or any other appropriate data communications device. Thephysical communication links may be optical, wired, or wireless (e.g.,via satellite or cellular network).

The computer system 251 may further include appropriate input/outputports 256 for interconnection with a display 257 and a keyboard 258serving as the respective user interface. For example, the computer mayinclude a graphics subsystem to drive the output display 257. The outputdisplay 257 may include a cathode ray tube (CRT) display or liquidcrystal display (LCD). Although not shown, the PC type system typicallywould include a port for connection to a printer. The input controldevices for such an implementation of the system 251 would include thekeyboard 258 for inputting alphanumeric and other key information. Theinput control devices for the system may further include a cursorcontrol device (not shown), such as a mouse, a trackball, stylus, orcursor direction keys. The links of the peripherals 257, 258 to thesystem 251 may be wired connections or use wireless communications.

Each computer system 251 runs a variety of applications programs andstores data, enabling one or more interactions via a user interface,provided through elements such as 257 and 258, and/or over a network toimplement desired processing.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a general-purpose computersystem 351, which may perform the functions of an operator interface orother element of the system 10 and/or method 100. The exemplary computersystem 351 contains a central processing unit (CPU) 352, memories 353and an interconnect bus 354. The CPU 352 may contain a singlemicroprocessor, or may contain a plurality of microprocessors forconfiguring the computer system 352 as a multi-processor system. Thememories 353 include a main memory, a read only memory, and mass storagedevices such as various disk drives, tape drives, etc. The main memorytypically includes dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and high-speedcache memory. In operation, the main memory stores at least portions ofinstructions and data for execution by the CPU 352.

The mass storage may include one or more magnetic disk or tape drives oroptical disk drives, for storing data and instructions for use by CPU352. The mass storage 355 may also include one or more drives forvarious portable media, such as a floppy disk, a compact disc read onlymemory (CD-ROM), or an integrated circuit non-volatile memory adapter(i.e. PCMCIA adapter) to input and output data and code to and from thecomputer system 351.

The system 351 also includes one or more input/output interfaces forcommunications, shown by way of example as an interface 359 for datacommunications via a network. The interface 359 may be a modem, anEthernet card or any other appropriate data communications device. Thephysical communication links may be optical, wired, or wireless (e.g.,via satellite or cellular network). Alternatively, the computer systemmay comprise a mainframe or other type of host computer system capableof web-based communications via the Internet.

Although not shown, the system 351 may further include appropriateinput/output ports for interconnection with a local display and akeyboard or the like serving as a local user interface for programmingpurposes. Alternatively, operations personnel may interact with thesystem 351 for control and programming of the system from remoteterminal devices via the Internet or some other network link.

The components contained in the computer systems 251 and 351 are thosetypically found in general purpose computer systems used as servers,workstations, personal computers, network terminals, and the like. Infact, these components are intended to represent a broad category ofsuch computer components that are well known in the art.

At different times all or portions of the executable code or databasefor any or all of the software elements may reside in physical media orbe carried by electromagnetic media. Physical media include the memoryof the computer processing systems 251, 351, such as varioussemiconductor memories, tape drives, disc drives and the like ofgeneral-purpose computer systems. All or portions of the software may attimes be communicated through the Internet or various othertelecommunication networks. Thus, another type of media that may bearthe software elements includes optical, electrical and electromagneticwaves, such as used across physical interfaces between local devices,through wired and optical landline networks and over various air-links.

Terms relating to computer or machine “readable medium” as used hereinrefer to any medium that participates in providing instructions to aprocessor for execution or for carrying data to or from a processor forstorage or manipulation. Such a medium may take many forms, includingbut not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmissionmedia. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical or magneticdisks, such as in any of the storage devices in the system illustratedin FIG. 3. Volatile media include dynamic memory, such as main memory.Transmission media include coaxial cables; copper wire and fiber optics,including the wires that comprise a bus within a computer system.Transmission media can also take the form of electric or electromagneticsignals, or acoustic or light waves such as those generated during radiofrequency (RF) and infrared (IR) data communications. Common forms ofcomputer or machine readable media include, for example, a floppy disk,a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, aCD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM,a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wavetransporting data or instructions, or any other medium from which acomputer can read. Various forms of computer or machine-readable mediamay be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or moreinstructions or data to a processor for execution.

The system 10 and method 100 generally include at least one of four coretechnologies including line-scan camera techniques, optical symbologyrecognition, Regions of Interest (ROI), and data indexing techniques.

A line-scan camera provides for the rapid scanning of a target area insmall increments. This allows for processing to commence before allincrements have been completed. Using this technology in combinationwith OCR techniques enables a feeder to perform with greatly improvedefficiency. While the use of a line-scan camera is almost alwayspreferable, the system 10 can be implemented using area scanning camerasor other vision techniques.

The system 10 can employ back end, front end, and other cameras withinthe feeder in a networked configuration for distributing the scanningand processing workload, as well as leverage the combined strength ofthe various remote information gathering locations.

The system 10 allows for the scanning of an image and the simultaneousdecoding of it, decoding the first scanned line at the same time thesecond line is being scanned, and so on. As illustrated in FIG. 5, thisprocess enables a work piece 20 to be moving and scanned for informationprocessing simultaneously, allowing work pieces to continuously move inan uninterrupted manner along the raceway as it passes through theviewable window of a line-scan camera. This allows the process tomaintain a quicker processing capability, without having to stop afeeder after an initial feed for the sole purpose of performing astationary scan. Prior art methods maintain a “buffer zone” forproviding a stopping point after an initial movement of the work pieceout of the feeder that requires each work piece to stop at a pre-definedlocation for a static scan and the subsequent re-start of the document'sjourney. With the system's 10 processing technique, the buffer zonemethod is no longer required. This can result in significant savingsfrom increased average raceway speed, and reduced required feeder realestate.

This technique can also be applied at a later point in the racewaywhere, by scanning quickly and processing simultaneously, timelydiversions can be performed. To ensure enough time for diverting workpieces, prior art methods have employed lengthy raceways that increasethe footprint in order to provide the proper time.

The system 10 also utilizes the placement of a line-scan camera with OCRtechniques at the front end of the feeder system, which is highlyadvantageous for providing information early in the feeder system. Theproblem is that existing techniques, typically bar-coding or OMRtechniques, are highly unreliable so that the information that isgleaned generally arrives too late in the raceway to be of any use inaffecting the outcome of the process. Having a reliable and timelymethod is highly desirable since almost any error in a system isunacceptable.

Another technique enabled by the system 10 is that, by leveraging thedata indexing techniques, the extraction of read comparison data from anextracted print stream 30 can provide data that can be indexed to assistin integrity verification methods to match previously extracted datawith what ends up within the feeder system in line with the pre-createdprint stream 30. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the system 10 intercedes uponthe provided print stream 30 to extract highly useful data that can beutilized in fuzzy logic processing among others that can be useful inintegrity practices. Data from a print stream 30 is extracted to a datafile 32 at a networked location 34, imported into the system 10,configured, run, and ultimately accessible through web-based reports fordetailed piece information and reconciliation. The data can be exportedand saved for later import and use in subsequent data indexing jobs. Thesystem 10 import tools will pull the specified fields from the file, andinsert them into a data file. Once the job has been set up, the system10 will be able to read and match addresses to the data file. If piecesgo out of order or the system 10 encounters a misread, the machine willstop and prompt for appropriate action.

Another technique enabled by the system 10 is a read-anchoring searchtechnique. This technique uses a fixed element in an image as an“anchor” point to locate a variable portion. For example, if it is knownthat wherever the term “account #” is the account number will follow,one can quickly focus the search to find the number. The term “account#” can therefore form an anchor for determining where to look for neededinformation to speed up the processing. In addition, if one knows that“page two” always contains the anchor term one can quickly arrive at thelocation of the needed information within a multi-page document. Thistext anchoring technique can also act as an enabler for many otherfeatures such as page set verification.

The system 10 further provides specific techniques to improve reading oftext and other text-based markings where difficulties arise from issuessuch as skewing and uneven lighting.

A technique enabled by the system 10 is the pre-processing of scannedimages such as automatic light adjustment via software such asbrightness flattening. Light is often uneven across a document due toissues such as poorly trained operators, difficult camera location,inconsistent paper feed, or wrinkled paper. The system 10 uses‘gradient’ software to change the relative intensity of reflecting lightto balance the intensity of the field of view. Prior art methods usemechanical or other analog solutions such as “light maneuvering”techniques. The use of “thresholding” techniques and a plurality offiltering and correction techniques are available within the system 10for the known difficulties of extracting data from a scanned image suchas skewing, black on black printing, watermarks, “write-overs”, andfingerprinting.

Another system 10 technique is to line-scan Magnetic Ink CharacterRecognition (MICR) to de-skew a skewed image. MICR is typically used forreturned check processing. Some checks have complex images in thebackground. Signatures and handwriting can be confused for portions ofthe MICR line. The system 10 is capable of distinguishing.

The system 10 is able to accurately read three-dimensional charactersutilizing the imaging of the peaks of characters by understanding howlight falls upon a raised surface. This is primarily used for thereading of embossed credit card account numbers for integrity checkingpurposes. The sensed lighter areas of the scanned characters providehighly accurate character recognition through processing of the rawimage since light will fall on the peaks of the characters morebrilliantly than the lower “valley” areas. These peak areas are also thedesired locations of the most accurate representation of the charactersthemselves. The height of an embossed character is determined by alight-leveled three-dimensional scan where light gradients aid indetermining the peaks, and an algorithm then converts it to a“flattened” 2-D embodiment.

Since a good way to test a system's integrity is to detect if the“logo-ed” letterhead, envelope or other work piece contains, or isprinted with the appropriate material that is scheduled to be used.Another technique enabled by the system's technology is logo or otherimage matching. The system 10 can use the aforementioned data indexingtechniques in conjunction with the further aforementioned ROI techniquesto determine through processing whether the system 10 is runningproperly by comparing a scanned image of what should have a logo presentwith what is being inserted or printed upon that specific workpiece.

The system 10 provides for the reading of multiple regions from a singleimage simultaneously instead of the less desirable existing method ofusing multiple area-scan cameras to capture multiple images. UtilizingRegions of Interest (ROI), the system 10 can enable the assignment by anoperator of ROI's that provide for a search region so that the system 10can perform a targeted search for expected data zones. The system 10provides for the use of a single line-scan camera to scan an entiredocument from a single location, with subsequent processing performed onpre-determined software ROI. FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary example ofa control grid 40 advantageously employed for selecting a region ofinterest in the field of view. These regions can then be saved, alongwith other design functionalities, as a template for subsequent reuse.

The control grid 40 is included within the user interface to create anROI, determine its size and location, resize or relocate that region andattribute parameters to that ROI such as what optical scanning methodwill be implemented, and/or what character processing should beemployed.

The system 10 further provides for the provision of address maskinglocators. Knowing the general shape that an address takes and maskingsuspect areas in the form of a “Blob”, the location of an address can besearched. Then by using filtering techniques the address can be found inan image of a letter that contains several targeted areas ofinformation. When using “blobs” to mask an address location, areas aremasked by blabbed areas, filters are applied, and the last blobremaining after the filters are applied that resembles the predeterminedsilhouette provides an extremely high probability of the correctlocation of the address for further processing via OCR techniques tocapture data. This can provide important assurances of properaddressing, and therefore, for example, avoid violations of UnitedStates Postal Service (USPS) standards.

The system 10 further provides for indicia verification techniques. Withthe use of efficient image processing algorithms, the system 10 can scanan ROI target area to confirm the presence of an expected indicator. Forexample, algorithms can determine the presence or absence of anappropriate postal meter stamp with a minimum of processing by focusingon a predetermined set of search areas and, by using thresholdingtechniques, determine a positive or negative verification. This providesfor the assurance, among other things, that proper postage was utilized.

The system 10 provides for the archiving of a setup as a template. Withthe high flexibility of the system 10, ROI's and other functionalityimplemented within a particular job run can be saved as a template forreuse at a later time either as is or with minor changes, therein savingtime and money by avoiding duplication of work. The template is savedwith all customizable attributes recorded for later retrieval. Using thesystem 10 in such a manner, a job having a first ROI set for anintegrity check of a logo, a second ROI set for a three-dimensional readof embossed characters, and a third ROI providing a barcode scan, canall be saved as a template. The template can then be subsequentlyreferenced through for example the scanning of a barcode printed on aprovided work sheet commonly used in the industry, thereby increasingjob efficiency.

The system 10 also provides for image archiving of scanned images. Thisenables the scanning and storage of an entire document and entire runsin a streamlined image format. The stored image can be subsequentlyretrieved for desired verification requirements such as confirmation ofmail out in a dispute resolution issue.

The system 10 further enables the creation of a region, and subsequentselection of symbology. Once the region has been determined, theparticular symbology expected to be present can be selected through thisinterface. The system 10 further allows for the selection of anintegrity test to perform. The region can be further associated with anintegrity test to be performed, such as using data indexing techniquesto determine correct pairing of a wrapper with its insert.

A single user interface is provided for machine control and a camerainspection system. The user interface includes components such as thecontrol grid 40, draw on action and highlighting that enable control offeeder devices and the camera inspection system through a single userinterface. By networking multiple feeder stations with access through acentral GUI, operational effectiveness and quality control is improved.

The system 10 further provides a web browser to access “on-boardreporting”. The system interface can include an embedded web browser forproviding displayed system 10 status reports and for initiatingprintouts. The web browser is advantageously located on the samecomputer station as the real time feeder machine control system process,but in a separate memory area and at a lower priority for systemresources. This provides highly accurate and up to date system statusreports, while providing the machine control process with the highestpriority access to system resources.

The system 10 further provides for “closed-loop” integrity checkingusing multiple networked line-scan cameras and other devices employed toleverage information gathered from multiple locations throughout thefeeder process at a central location to act as a multiplier.

Operations or applications of the system 10 provide for data indexingtechniques for uses such as matching “John Doe” to “Dear John” captureddata by using hashing to perform ‘fuzzy’ matching. The system 10 canthen provide an advanced methodology of data driven inserting (DDI) tomore efficiently run an inserter or drive another feeder device such asa printer. It should be noted that matching “Dear John” to “John Doe”could be performed for matching purposes independent of DDI. Forexample, the feeder device might not be manipulated as a result of thetest, but rather simply to confirm that the pieces are being correctlymatched and to report the result.

The use of data indexing techniques can provide significant cost savingsby ensuring the integrity of a job, and can further provide informationthat can be used to reduce the costs of a mail out through reducedpostal rates and the like as would be known to those of skill in theart. Uses include print quality assurance, collating and sequenceverification, insert matching, selective inserting, printer control,audit trails, and postal separation.

The system 10 is further capable of performing ‘parallel decoding’. Thesystem 10 can read checks at a very high speed, as much as 40+ persecond, and decode them in parallel. Although the checks may all be fedand imaged much sooner than the system 10 decoding completes, as long asdecoding completes before the machine is ready to cycle on to the nextbatch of checks, no real-time delay in the system occurs. The system 10uses a combination of imaging in real time and parallel decoding, whichwhile not completing before the images are all taken, does completebefore it is too late to give the feeder device timely feedback.

The system 10 utilizes a single interface 50 to recognize many differingsymbologies including MICR, text, barcode, or OMR. This method enables a“one reader to many symbologies” capability, as illustrated in FIG. 8.

The system 10 enables the reading of OCR, BAR, and OMR (Optical MarkRecognition) codes using only a line-scan camera instead of prior artmethods of using matching readers for each code to be read. The system10 reads OCR, BAR, and/or OMR characters using a line-scan camera,translates the code to a single common code for a single existing readersuch as a barcode reader, and then spoofs that one reader into thinkingit read the code off of the piece itself. This eliminates the need toprovide matching readers for each code type.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the system 10 provides for symbologytranslation whereby OCR 60 can be read through the aforementionedline-scanning techniques, and delivered serially via a bar code reader(BCR) 62 or other legacy reader input port. In other words, one can readsymbology A and output symbology B, and vice versa by simulating alegacy input to control an antiquated system utilizing a spoofingtechnique. By line-scanning a symbology, the system 10 enables thetranslation of that symbology to another symbology that has a readcapability present within the existing or legacy devices. In thismanner, one can input one data format into the symbology translator 64and output a different data format that has an existing reader inputdevice or port so as to leverage existing equipment, saving the expenseof having to purchase a new symbology-specific reader. As illustrated inFIG. 10, the symbology translator 64 uses a core data format 66 to actas a conversion interface between the source symbology and the targetsymbology.

By utilizing a high-speed probability algorithm in combination with adata file, the system 10 can read multiple printed information elementson work pieces to be assembled. This ensures that integrity decisionscan be made at high-speed so that they can be completed before asubsequent operation executes, such as in the assembly of a work piece.

Line-scan cameras can be placed at the back end of a feeder device, onan Automated Inline Mailer (AIM) feeder used to hold or fold work piecesso that the integrity of what is being mailed is verified before it istoo late for corrective action to take place. These line-scan camerascan also be utilized on a stream feeder, in the feed station itself, aswell as scanning during feeding. When a line-scan camera is placed on orabout the printer area, the system 10 can check for among other thingsprint quality, or for the presence of double printing. By placing aline-scan camera on or about the postal meter stamping area,verification of proper metering such as missed stamping, doublestamping, and illegible stamping can be undertaken.

Since all parts of a feeder system can be monitored, the system 10 iscapable of verifying the integrity of every printed piece of mail ineven the largest of mailings or printings. This can ensure that each andevery document printed is mailed only once. Cameras can be moved wherethey are most needed. The system 10 will read what an operator wants toread, providing high flexibility. The system 10 can watch for missingenvelopes, disoriented inserts, duplicate pieces, and poor printquality. The system 10 can track production quality at speeds that moreclosely mirror those of equipment maximums. The system 10 is highlyflexible enabling the reading of multiple differing fonts, languages andcodes including OCR, OMR, bar codes, MICR, print data matrix, andtwo-dimensional codes.

Further, the system 10 enables the production of a piece-by-piece audittrail of every envelope leaving a feeder device, providing confidencethat every piece printed was mailed out. When a document is unreadable,out of order, or missing altogether, the system 10 will instantly stop afeeder device and point an operator to the problem, allowing them tocorrect mistakes as they happen.

As well, the system 10 is highly interoperable with multiple machinemanufactures and new or legacy equipment, adding improved qualitycontrol and integrity checking to print and mail operations. The system10 enables operators to run their inserters and other feeder equipmentat full speed. The system 10 enables cross-referencing to a master listto ensure that what is thought to have been printed and packaged is whatwas actually done.

A quality assurance report can be printed at any time that identifiesevery envelope the system 10 has seen, and often more importantly everyenvelope it hasn't seen. This eliminates any need to guess what needs tobe reprinted, therein providing a higher quality output at a lower cost,whether matching on an inserter or checking text on a web press. Thesystem 10 is ultimately more tolerant of poor setup, easier to use,requires less operator training to get good results, dramaticallyimproves accuracy, and requires fewer service calls.

Any hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software havingthe above-described functions may implement the feeder control system 10and 100 method according to the present teachings, and methods describedabove. The software code, either in its entirety or a part thereof, maybe in the form of a computer program product such as a computer-readablememory having the system and/or method stored therein.

Furthermore, a computer data signal representation of that software codemay be embedded in a carrier wave for transmission via communicationsnetwork infrastructure. Such a computer program product and a computerdata signal are also within the scope of the present invention, as wellas the hardware, software and combination thereof.

Although the present teachings have been described in considerabledetail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, otherversions are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims should not be limited to the description of the preferredembodiments contained herein.

1. A computer-implemented method of processing a plurality mail pieces,the method comprising steps of: extracting read comparison data from aprint stream database; storing the extracted read comparison data foraccess by document handling equipment for processing the plurality ofmail pieces; processing the plurality of mail pieces on the documenthandling equipment to at least obtain unique mail piece informationusing a line scan camera from each respective mail piece; performingintegrity verification by matching the extracted read comparison datawith the read unique mail piece information for each respective mailpiece; determining, based on the performed integrity verification,whether any one of the mail pieces is processed out of sequential orderor other print discrepancy that the document handling equipmentencounters in the unique mail piece information when it is compared tothe extracted read comparison data of any one of the processed mailpieces such that corrective action can be taken; and generating anelectronically accessible report containing mail piece sequenceinformation for each of the respective mailpieces processed by thedocument processing equipment and/or print discrepancy data for each ofthe respective mailpieces.
 2. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising the step of: in the event of an unsuccessful verification,stopping the processing of the mail pieces on the document handlingequipment and taking corrective action.
 3. The method according to claim1, wherein the document processing handling includes an inserter,printing press or bookmaker.
 4. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising the step of: storing an obtained address information togetherwith the extracted read comparison data at a networked location.